Journal
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
Volume 145, Issue 4, Pages 286-294Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/jen.12854
Keywords
Camelina sativa; early-season forage; nectar; pollen; Thlaspi arvense
Categories
Funding
- USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-Coordinated Agricultural Program [2016-69004-24784]
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Field pennycress and winter camelina produce abundant pollen and nectar, attracting various beneficial pollinating insects. Visitation rates of different insect groups varied across locations and were influenced by site and weather characteristics. The study highlights the importance of understanding the factors affecting pollinator visitation in these crops.
Flowers of field pennycress (Thlaspi arvsense L.) and winter camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz.) produce abundant pollen and nectar in early spring and thereby may be valuable for pollinators. Insects observed in field plots of these flowers were classified into seven easily identifiable groups (bumblebee, honeybee, solitary bee, butterfly/moth, beetle, fly and other) and monitored for 2 years at three sites in the Upper Midwest region of the USA. Average seasonal observations across years and sites varied from 1.6 to 5.3 total insects/min for field pennycress and 1.4 to 4.5 insects/min for winter camelina. Lowest visitation rates occurred in central Iowa and highest rates in south-eastern Minnesota for both crops. Multiple regressions showed that visitation rates for specific insect groups were correlated poorly but significantly (p < .10) with select variables. For example, in field pennycress, visitation by combined bumblebees and honeybees (Apidae) increased with greater air temperature at sampling time and annual site precipitation, whereas fly (Diptera) visitation was related to sampling date and flower cover. Similarly, in winter camelina, solitary bees were linked to increasing air temperature at sampling time and annual site precipitation, whereas flies were correlated with wind speed and flower cover at sampling. Field pennycress and winter camelina are reliably attractive to beneficial pollinating insects across a wide geographic region, but visitation rates and proportional representation of various insect groups depended on a range of site and weather characteristics.
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